Francisco Arenas to Lead Billboard/Hollywood Reporter CP Division

Francisco Arenas has been appointed to oversee the growth strategy for licensing and merchandising of the Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter brands.

April 6, 2018

Francisco Arenas has been appointed to oversee the growth strategy for licensing and merchandising of the

Billboard

and

The Hollywood Reporter

brands.

As senior vice president, business development and licensing, Arenas will build new global franchise models and monetization strategies for the brands.

"The addition of an executive expert within business development and licensing initiatives reinforces our commitment to continue to build and further extend our properties into new businesses by generating additional revenue streams for the company," says John Amato, co-president,

Billboard

and

The Hollywood Reporter

. "As the authoritative voice and one of the most trusted brands in music and Hollywood entertainment, our goal is to leverage the strength of our brands and proprietary content to develop strategic partnerships with current and new clients across media and non-media platforms. Francisco will play a key role in helping us reach this goal."

Arenas joins the organization from Believe

Entertainment Group, a digital entertainment company, where he served as franchise development consultant, and Univision Communications, where he was the vice president, licensing/new business development. Arenas was also previously the senior director of ESPN, where he was responsible for building and growing the company's global consumer product program.

Recent deals for

The Hollywood Reporter

include a multi-year partnership with Tencent, a provider of Internet services in China; and a range of ergonomic

Billboard

-branded earbuds for Delta airline passengers.

"You don't often have the opportunity to join a company looking to build top brands into global franchises," says Arenas. "Music and entertainment programs influence and engage audiences worldwide, and companies are looking at our brands as a way to not only stay on trend and relevant with today's consumer behavior across new media platforms, but also reach younger audiences. I'm very excited about the opportunities ahead of us across new media content development, branded products, promotions, retail activations and experiences/events."